Tech

FAA may ease drone regulations on 'line of sight' requirements

In this Oct. 16, 2014 file photo, former Navy helicopter pilot and San Diego Gas &amp; Electric unmanned aircraft operator Teena Deering holds a drone as it is prepared for takeoff near Boulevard, Calif.

SANTA CRUZ, California — The FAA may loosen regulations on commercial drone operators that would make it easier for businesses, like Amazon, to operate drone-based services.

Speaking at the Drone, Data X Conference in Santa Cruz Friday, the FAA's Jim Williams acknowledged the need to ease the regulation known as "line of sight" that requires commercial drones be kept within the field of view of the pilot.

"We understand there’s a lot of value in flying out of line of sight and that’s one of the areas we’re looking to get ahead rapidly in the next few years," said Williams, who heads up the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office.

Though the agency is already working on revised drone regulations, the law in its current form still requires that pilots keep drones within sight. This is particularly problematic for businesses like Amazon, which want to roll out large scale delivery services with drones.

Williams did not provide a timeline on when such regulations may be changed but noted that as sensor technology continues to evolve, drones will become safer and the need for a nearby pilot less necessary.

The FAA's Jim Williams, speaking at the Drones, Data X Conference in Santa Cruz, Califronia on May 1, 2015.

Image: Karissa Bell/Mashable

"Sensor technology as it develops will eventually be able to provide a total level of safety to a pilot in that it can see and avoid," he said. "That technology has yet to be certified, we’re working on standards to get to that point where we can start doing that. I do believe there’s a whole bunch of technology that’s being developed ... that will enable beyond line of sight."

Scaling back these regulations could be game changing for the commercial drone industry. As it stands now, many drone-based businesses are limited by the FAA's requirements that they see as too restrictive.

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